Monday, 23 May 2011

Here Comes The Summer Of Discontent…

Bins will start overflowing in Southampton streets next week after unions warned they were launching strike action in a festering dispute over pay.

More than 180 refuse collectors will walk out for five days on Monday in, what could be, the most severe industrial action in living memory.

When they return, they will not be playing catch-up because all council staff will be working to rule and refusing overtime.

Southampton’s not the prettiest town to begin with; I can’t imagine this will make it any better.

It has left residents fearing chaos and rat infestations.

It sounds like that’d be a welcome price to pay, if these unions are to be brought to heel once and for all.

Unite convenor, Mark Wood, who represents binmen, street cleaners and park rangers, said: “It is going to be wholesale disruption to services, in particular waste collection, and create a backlog of rubbish and waste on the street.

“We can strike indefinitely.

It’s difficult to recall anything as big as this in Southampton.”

Comments are, as you would expect, somewhat vociferous…

There are plenty of suggestions for getting around this, including taking your rubbish to the tip. I can’t help, though, but feel that the best place for it would be Mark Wood’s front garden…

This is the union response to the proposed cuts which from what I have read consisted of getting rid of 5 manaagers, having a sliding scale of pay cuts with the top salaries being cut by 5.5%. The lowest earners below 17,000 were to receive a £250 pay rise and the idea was to save 400 job cuts over the next 2 years and to not replace natural wastage. All places like leisure centres and libraries are to remain open.

i have seen rubbish simply left on street corners on the basis that a wheelie bin with a lid that won't close fully will not be emptied but dumped in public will be tidied up pronto.

And as this 'leader' says they can strike indefinitely then they must have good savings to afford it. Moreover, if as Anon says earlier, sixty per cent have signed up for a new deal does that mean the other 40 per cent can bring it all down? Unions, you gotta love them...

".. look to employing some of the many in Soton desperately seeking jobs .."

There's the problem. Would you find any?

"...consisted of getting rid of 5 manaagers, having a sliding scale of pay cuts with the top salaries being cut by 5.5%. The lowest earners below 17,000 were to receive a £250 pay rise and the idea was to save 400 job cuts over the next 2 years..."

Good grief!

"Unions, you gotta love them..."

I wonder if anyone ever really thinks things through before joining a union?